Breaking the Silence - Isra--ili ex-soldiers talk

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Breaking the Silence

Breaking the Silence › The Organization

 

Breaking the Silence › The Organization Breaking the Silence is an organization of veteran soldiers who have served in the Israeli military since the st...

 

 

Soldiers who serve in the territories witness and participate in military actions that change them immensely. Cases of abuse toward Palestinians, looting and destruction of property have been the norm for years, but these incidents are still described officially as “extreme” and “unique” cases. Our testimonies portray a different – and much grimmer – picture, in which the deterioration of moral standards finds expression in the character of the military orders and rules of engagement that the state considers justified in the name of Israel’s security.

 

Breaking the Silence › Testimonies

 

Breaking the Silence › Testimonies Breaking the Silence is an organization of veteran soldiers who have served in the Israeli military since the st...

 

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Ex-Israeli Pilot: "Our army is a terrorist organisation run by war criminals"

A former Israeli Air Force pilot, Yonatan Shapira, has described the Israeli government and army as "terrorist organisations" run by "war criminals."

Captain Shapira who had resigned from the Israeli army in 2003 at the height of the Palestinian Second Intifada explained in an exclusive interview with Anadolu News Agency why he realized after joining the army that he was "part of a terrorist organisation".

I realised during the Second Intifada what the Israeli Air Force and Israeli military are doing are war crimes, terrorising a population of millions of Palestinians. When I realised that, I decided to not just leave but to organise other pilots that will publicly refuse to take part in these crimes,

he said.

"As a child in Israel, you are being brought up in very strong Zionist militaristic education. You don't know almost anything about Palestine, you don't know about the 1948 Nakba, you don't know about ongoing oppression," Shapira said.

Ever since leaving the Israeli army, Shapira has launched a campaign that encouraged other military members to disobey orders to attack Palestinians.

The campaign has led 27 other army pilots to be discharged from their posts in the Israeli Air Force since 2003.

In the last week, Israeli warplanes have waged hundreds of airstrikes against the Palestinian civilians in the besieged Gaza Strip, killing at least 188 Palestinians including 55 children and 33 women and wounding 1,230 people.

Source

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Testimonies of soldiers from the Civil Administration, Gaza DCL and COGAT 2011-2021

Read testimonies of ex-soldiers

Bureaucratic Violence Rank: Lieutenant | Unit: Gaza DCL | Area: Gaza Strip | Location: Gaza DCL Base | Period: 2014

Q. When you were at Erez Crossing, did you have any doubts about what you were seeing?

Back then, I don’t think I had any doubts. I was convinced I was on the humane side. I was happy that I, as a good soldier who wanted to help people, got to be in the place that gives the permits. Imagine your clerk at the bank, or an official from a government office, started yelling at you over something you asked for, it’s a terrible situation and over something very very basic. You don’t even go to the bank for your most basic need which is your freedom of movement, you go to the reception window because you have to, not because you want to. 28

Q. Was that your goal for serving in the DCL (see glossary) in the first place?

I didn’t choose it, but yes, I was happy that I wasn’t in something combative. I didn’t want to be violent.

Q. And do you see it differently today?

Absolutely, yes. I think it might not look like the violence we’re used to hearing about, violence at the checkpoint, or soldiers abusing Palestinians. But it’s a different kind of violence. It’s bureaucratic violence. We use a great deal of violence against Gaza. During the rounds [of fighting] themselves, we use a lot of violence and sow destruction, and it’s part of the same strategy. Now, I see [those rounds of fighting] as having to 'mow the lawn' every few years, and in-between, Gazans have to be kept on a very short leash, not allowed too many exits and entries, not allowed to do many things we’d take for granted, like being able to fish wherever we feel like, or being able to fly. It's a prison

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Gaza - Testimony of Soldiers

17 years of blockade, of almost total control over who/what goes in/out of the Gaza Strip. 17 years of controlling Gaza's airspace, sea access, electricity. But none of that matters to the pro-occupation. As long as he can find a way to blame the Palestinians for basically everything.

The right seems to think that the moment Israeli settlers were evacuated from the Gaza Strip in 2005, the occupation there ended. But this is a lie. The occupation of Gaza is as strong and all-encompassing as ever.

Just ask the more than 2 million Gazans who are forced to live from one round of IDF aerial bombings to the next with almost no ability to rebuild their lives in between, since we're the ones who control what building materials, and how much, can be brought in to the Strip.

Many Israelis don't know that very basic fact. But Gazans are fully aware of it.

And so are the soldiers:
"We use a great deal of violence against Gaza. During the rounds [of fighting] themselves, we use a lot of violence and sow destruction, and it’s part of the same strategy. Now, I see [those rounds of fighting] as having to 'mow the lawn' every few years, and in-between, Gazans have to be kept on a very short leash, not allowed too many exits and entries, not allowed to do many things we’d take for granted, like being able to fish wherever we feel like, or being able to fly. It's a prison."

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